AEROCASILLAS - Beware

This is an update on the "H" truck situation, or should I say dilemma. No, let's just say -The final straw

This post got to be very long because I just got carried away with it. Because of that, I dedicated a separate page for it because it contains some very important facts. If you have any intentions of using this company, it would be in your best interest to read that page. The tab is located under the title picture.


7/10/2011 - see update on page

Not Sure About This

 

Do you remember this vehicle? Well, it has been since the day after Christmas that we have been able to use it. I'm starting to forget what the interior actually looks like. It all started about a year ago now since I got it stuck and destroyed the rear-end. That had a very negative affect on the transfer case, which leads us to today's situation. 

First.. A little background This is a transfer case. It's purpose is to enable the vehicle to have the 4x4 function. Pictured, is my old transfer case. It was also damaged when I messed up the rear-end. Now, I need to make one thing clear here - The vehicle has about 65,000 miles on it. I purchased it from the second owner who was the CFO of HP here in Costa Rica - my stupidity was that I was so anxious to get the truck, I didn't completely check the vehicle history. I later found that it was purchased by a diving equipment company who ran the ever-loving hell out of it along the Pacific Coast. - I have had over 50 vehicles in my life, and never, never had problems like I have had with this one. Now, on with story of the transfer case. Our mechanic Luis tried and tried to fix the old one with any part he could find, but it finally gave out completely the day after Christmas when I was on the way to drop some gifts off to some friends.

Time to find a replacement - no such luck in Costa Rica in spite of all the Terracans running around throughout the country. The Hyundai dealer here is a complete waste of time when looking for parts. I even went to their Regional Office, but to get all the parts needed to rebuild the case, they wanted $3,800 - Are you kidding me!!

I finally found a remanufactured unit in Oakland, California - these guys were great and got me one shipped out to our CR Courier in Miami. (There will be a special post on these guys soon) -  Then the courier brought it into Costa Rica. You are not going to believe this, but I get an email yesterday saying the part is damaged. I think what happened was that someone in Customs when they took it out of the box for inspection dropped it on the concrete floor and broke a piece of it off from the case. Check out the picture of it below. SOMEONE IS OUT TO GET ME!!

 

Luis thinks the part can be welded back onto the unit, so we are going to go to Customs to check it out. God, do I hope everything works out. In addition, the courier company has said that they will pay for all the repairs. Wish me Luck, because I need it!!

One thing that I need to mention at this time - This truck has gained a reputation in town - My friends no longer call it the Hyundai, or the Terracan 

They call it the "H" truck

What I am going to do if everything turns out good is

Paint it Black so No One Will Recognize It

New and Exciting News in the Medical Field

I have this dear friend who is also a neighbor of mine. At the time, we had known each other for about 6 months before we talked about the careers in our previous lives. Well, I would have never believed it, but he told me he was a retired bio-chemist. During his last stay in Costa Rica, he taught chemistry at the University of Costa Rica so he wouldn't get bored. This is just the beginning - read on...

Well, during this stay in Costa Rica, (which I sincerely feel he has now made the decision to stay this time for good) this guy tells me that he recently decided to start a pharmaceutical company. I was shocked. It appears that he got a team of scientists together who were medical professions and had developed some very interesting new products and wanted to introduce them to the world. I asked him "why would you want to do something of this magnitude when you are retired?" His response was, which was very interesting was:

"The products that we have developed are very innovative and will help the medical industry world-wide and I want to make sure that the world knows that they were developed in Costa Rica because this has never happened before - I want to help the people of Costa Rica be recognized for their ability"

Well, that was good enough for me. My friend started working on his business plan and did so for about 2 months non-stop. Because of my background and knowledge of writing business plans, he sometimes asked me to review his progress. In doing this, I really learned a lot, and saw that he was putting together one of the best business plans I had ever seen.

During all this, I discovered that his team had come up with some amazing products. I don't know the names of all of them but this is basically what they are:

• There is one that he claims is better than the well-known and probably most used skin care medication on the market. I have used this product for years and swear by it. He gave me a sample of his product to try, and yes - it is better. It seems to act quicker and much more effective.
• I didn't know it, but using latex gloves can cause a rash. His team developed a spray that one who is going to use latex gloves, sprays it on their hands, the hands become protected. In fact, the spray will make any rash from latex gloves go away. Knowing the number of people who need latex gloves, this innovation is significant. Another thing that came out of this was that one of Costa Rica's major banks became interested in the product because the spray protected the teller's hands from the germs that came from handling money. The bank calls it the "Invisible Gloves."
• They also developed a medication to treat acne. I haven't had a need to test this one, but I'm sure it works pretty good.
• Now the big one - The current pap smear test has been around for decades. These guys have come up with a new test that will detect cancer sooner and is less invasive to the patient. According to what I have been told, if they add something to the solution, if the woman is pregnant, it will also determine the sex of the baby. - This one really amazes me.
• They have developed some other products, but the ones above are really going to help his company grow.

I had to tell you about this because his team has really come up with some great products, and I am proud to be his friend.

Oh yes, I need to tell you about this. I have learned that my friend is very well-connected in Costa Rica. One day, he tells me that the company won some sort of award for innovation and the President of Costa Rica was going to present it to them. Well she did, and invited them over to her house for coffee and discussion after the presentation. Now, it appears that the President is going to go to their facility and tape a news program honoring them for being the first facility of its kind in Costa Rica and how proud the country was of them - My God, the President now.. oh well

If you want some more information on this company, they have a website that you can go to. The link is below

http://www.biotd.net/

I want you to know that this is not an advertisement. Just wanted to let you know about a cool friend I have.

National Health Program vs Private Insurance

In a recent post, I said that I would provide some information regarding the differences in the two healthcare programs in Costa Rica. Now, I can tell you that I am not anywhere near an expert on this subject. Below, is what I know and have experienced.Please see below..

National Healthcare Insurance of Costa Rica

The National Insurance of Costa Rica is called the CAJA.  As far as I know, you must have a residency in order to join. This is the program that all citizens of Costa Rica are covered under. The rates vary based on income, but the best place to get it is through the ARCR (an expat organization based in San Jose) Through the ARCR, our monthly premiums are about $50 per month. This includes complete coverage on medical, dental, hospital care and prescriptions. There is no co-pay, and my pre-existing conditions were not a factor.

This program has its pro’s and con’s as any other National Healthcare Program would have.  Some of the cons are that sometimes it takes a very long time to get some necessary testing and procedures done, and all of the prescriptions are generic.  The pros are that:  If you have an emergency need, there is no one better qualified to help you.  Once you start going to the local clinic and seeing a doctor, they will test you every 6 months and make sure you have the drugs that are necessary to maintain your health. From my last test, they found that I had diverticulitis and made sure that I was put on a daily fiber supplement program.

The CAJA hospitals are very good, and you don’t have to wait forever to get in for your appointment. The one I usually go to is the Hospital of Mexico located close to San Jose.  My last trip was to get a bone scan. I was in and out in about ½ hour and the equipment was identical to that of my bone doctor’s in Nashville, TN. According to what I have heard, this hospital is also considered one of the best for cancer treatment.

Private Insurance

The main company for private insurance is INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros.) There are other companies around, but this is the main one.  The private insurance companies are very similar to those in the US, but much less expensive. They have a very good program to supplement the CAJA. Here you have a choice of doctors and hospitals to choose from. Their coverage is very good, and if you want to use a private hospital like CIMA, then this may be a program to do some more research on. The costs vary depending on your medical records. Stef opted for this additional insurance and her annual cost is around $1,200. I would expect mine to be somewhere just under $2,000. The way her program works is that she pays for the prescriptions and other care up front. She provides the receipts and is immediately reimbursed.

My Personal Program and a Recent Experience

So far, I have been extremely happy with the CAJA. The doctor I see is very highly qualified and always willing to help me with my needs.  I was also very happy with my experience at the Hospital of Mexico. Because of this and the low cost of medical care in Costa Rica, I choose to just take the CAJA program and pay cash for the other if needed.

Recently, I had to have some polyps removed from my colon.  The doctor I was working with regarding this condition told me that it would take 6 months to get into a CAJA facility to get the procedure done. Because all my friends were on my case to get it done, I opted to go to a private clinic for the procedure where I would have to pay cash.  It was done at a price of $1,300 including the biopsy lab work on the polyps that were removed.  The way I looked at it was that this was cheaper than paying the annual premium for the Private Insurance. – Now, I don’t know how much something like this would have cost in the US, but I will bet money, it was one heck of a lot cheaper.

That is about all I can tell you about the insurance programs in Costa Rica. Hope it helps.

Some Information on CR Properties

Somehow, I have been getting pretty involved in helping people to develop websites and blogs.  I guess I do this because I really enjoy creating things. Must be from my marketing background in my previous life. Atenas is big on real estate and apartment rentals because of its location. Because of this, it seems like all the websites I have been involved with relate to those topics. Because of everything that is going on in the states, I was thinking that it might not be a bad idea to share these opportunities with you. You may not be interested, but may have friends that are – believe it or not, recently I’ve been getting some phone calls from friends in the US who want more information on Costa Rica. Anyway, take a look at these sites and let me know what you think..

This is a full-blown website that just went live this morning. It’s about a new Eco Development near Atenas that is pretty neat.

http://www.ecofriendlyhousingincostarica.com//

This blog I did for some friends who have properties for sale.

http://homespropertiesandlotsatenascostarica.blogspot.com/

This blog I did hits pretty close to home because it is about lots for sale in the community where we live.

http://haciendaatenaspropertiescostarica.blogspot.com/

This is an important blog to us because one of these apartment buildings happen to be owned by us.

http://atenascostaricaapartments.blogspot.com/

I really enjoyed developing these sites. This morning, it occurred to me that maybe  others need to know about these properties, so now you have it.